Governor



July 20, 1948.

W. T. FOX, JR

GOVERNOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 29, 1945' WILLIAM T. FOX,JR.

W. FOX, JR

GOVERNOR 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Nov. 29, 1945 WILLIAM 1". Fox,

Patented July 20, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOVERNOR William T.Fox, In, United States Navy Application November 29, 1945 Serial No.631,764 1 Claim. (orz a jos) U (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883,as

v draulic servo-system, to control the fuel 'is dispensed with and inlieu thereof there'is provided "a biased piston, or equivalent, whoseposition is determined by'th'e rate of flow of a liquid, preferably theengine fuel, delivered at a rate varying as a function of theenglne'speed. I v

Further in accordance with my invention, the speed may be held constantat any magnitude within asubstantial range by provision of avariableorifice in the discharge line from the chamber-in which the piston,lorequivalent, is movable.

Myinvention further resides in the features of construction, combinationand arrangement hereinafter' described and claimed.

For an understanding of my invention and for illustration of anembodiment thereof, reference is madetothe accompanying drawing inwhich: .Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a speed-control system.

. Fig. 2 partlyin section, illustrates the governor and pump shown inFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the pump shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig.2.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of valve structure shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. '7 is aplan View vofthe governor shown in F -Z. i.

Fig; 8 is a plan view of the governor-cylinder shown in Fig.2.

I Internal combustion engines of the Diesel type require, and of thegasoline type are often provided with, fuel control governors tomaintain a substantiall constant speed despite fluctuations in load. iFor smaller engines where the force required to move the injector'racks,or equivalent fuel valve structure, is small and the permissible cost islow, a centrifugal governor with its flyweights directly supplying thevalve-actuating power or injector rack-actuating power is most commonlyused. v

When a centrifugal governor is so used directly to actuate the fuelvalve or valves, it has several inherent disadvantages: it must be largeand cumbersome to derive sufficient powerfrom the fly-weights and it hasinferior regulating charamended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) Y 2acteristic which further deteriorates with wear of the parts.

For larger engines, the movement of the flyballs of aoentrifugalgovernor is utilized to operate the pilot valve of aservo-system-including a hydraulic motor for adjusting the fuel valve.This'so-called hydraulicgovernor is anexpensive precision apparatusrequiring skilled maintenance and repair service. I In both of thesetypes of governors, the flyball frame-isdriven from the engine whichinvolves considerable mechanical complication or expensive engineeringin providing for transmission of rotary motion from the engine to theflyballs and of valve-actuating motion from the flyballs to thefuel-valve structure.

The governor hereinafter described has none of the above disadvantages:it is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to adjust and repair, and maybe located at any desired location without introduction of difficultiesor complications in transmission of motion.

Referring to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the governor comprises a cylinder 1having inlet port 2 and outlet port 3 adjacent one end thereof; The

piston 4 is biased by spring 5, whose opposite,

ends engage the piston 4 and cylinder head 6 respectively, toward theported end of the cylinder and in its extreme position, as shown in Fig.2, leaves a chamber 1 through which passes the discharge of a pump 8driven by engine 9.

Essentially'the governor consists of a spring loaded piston opposin thedelivery of liquid by the pump 8. With a fixed outlet 3 from cylinder l,the position of the piston is determined bythe volume of liquiddelivered in unit time; the liquid in seeking escape through orifice 3builds up pressure in chamber 1 and effects movement of piston 4 untilbalance exists between the pressure exerted by the spring and thepressure of the fluid. The higher the engine speed, the greater the rateof delivery of liquid to chamber 1 and the further piston 4 is forced tothe left, Fig. 2, against the expansive force of the spring: conversely,as the engine speed falls, the fluid pressure falls and the piston ismoved to the right by the spring until balance is restored.

The motion of the piston is transmitted externally of cylinder l bypiston rod I0 which passes through a guide formed in cylinder head 6. Asby suitable linkage I I, motion of the piston is transmitted to theinjector rack, or other valve structure, for reducing the delivery offuel as the engine speed increases and for increasing the delivery offuel as the engine speed decreases.

Consequently, the governor serves to maintain the engine speed constantdespite fluctuations of load upon the engine.

In the case of Diesel engines, the liquid utilized for speed control ofthe engine may be the engine fuel itself and pump 8 may be the usualfuel pump of the positive displacement, vane :or rotary type pump, withwhich all such engines are provided. As shown in Fig. 2, the governormay be attached directly to the pump 8 or it may be located whereverconvenient to accommodate or simplify mechanical linkage to the fuelvalves and the necessary flow connections provided by lines l2,

l3 and I4.

As thus far described, the governor has only one speed settingdetermined by the fixed orifice 3. To provide for constancy of anyselected speed variable at will of the operator, a manual,- lyadjustable valve if: is introduced in the discharge line M of thegovernor. Preferably, as shown :in Fig. 2, this speed-setting valve isattached to or forms part of the governor I.

The casing l5 of this valve is provided with a port I which overlies aslot 25 at the end of a channel, Figs. 2 and 8, in the upper face ofgovernor cylinder l and-extending from the discharge port .3. Therotatable valve member 53, Figs. 2, 4, v5 and 6, is provided with awedge-shaped opening l9 which cooperateswith port ll variably torestrict discharge from the governor. in accordance with theangularposition-of member It.

The port or-opening l9 extends to the central passage '20 extendingaxially'of member 18 and :in fiowcommunication through openings 2| withthe circumferential groove 22 which is in line with outlet port 23 incasing It.

Whenhandle 24 is moved to-position for which the triangular slot l9coincides with the match- :ing port N, there is a minimum restriction todischarge and consequently minimum back pressureis developed withinchamber 1. Accordingly, the piston 4 moves inwardly to the positioncorresponding with maximum rate of fuel injection. As handle 24 is movedin reverse direction topositions closer and closer to the off position,

ithB slot .l-B more and more restricts .the .flow through port 1] :andthe increased pressure .in chamber 1 forces the piston 4 .to.lefticausing the fuel ivalve V successively to .assume positionscorresponding with the lower and lower speed settings of handle 24,.Slot [.9 is preferably wedge shaped to afford more flexible operation atlight loads.

.After the engine has .beenstopped, leakage allows the piston 4 to moveinwardly to full throttleposition in readiness for re-starting. Whenflow of .fuel is completely restricted by misalignment of ports H .andit, .as .in the .case or shutting down the engine, the usualspring-loaded bypass valve in the pump 8 prevents excessive pressurerise while the engine is coasting to a full stop.

iItgis pointed .out that in system :shown in Fig. 1, all fuel to theinjectors first passes through the governor thus avoiding possibility ofinoperativeness of the governor, for lack of its operating medium, whilefuel is being supplied to the engine. In brief, as long as fuel issupplied for operation of the engine it is effective for control ofspeed of the engine and moreover the rate at which fuel is supplied tothe injectors is not "affected by the fact that same medium is used foroperation of the governor.

The governor has an inherently drooping characteristic which affords thestability essential to practicall all uses of prime movers.

While I have disclosed an embodiment of my invention for purpose ofillustration, it is to be understood it is not limited thereto but iscoex- "ten'sive in scope with the appended claim.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States .of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

.For brevity in the appended claim, the term fuel valve is usedgenerically to include injector control rod 'or rack, meteringmechanism, fuel pump rack and equivalent devices for controlling theadmission of fuel to an internal combustion engine.

What ,I claim is:

A speed-governor for an internal-combustion engine comprising a cylinderhaving inlet and. outlet port-s adjacent one end thereof for flowconnection respectively with the fuel pump and fuel valve of the-engine,a piston movable in said cylinder, a manually adjustable valve forvariably restricting the flow through said outlet port, :a pistonmovable in said cylinder, spring means biasing said piston to positionadjacent said one :end of the cylinder, and structure for transmissionof movement 10f said "piston to said fuel walvesai'd manually adjustablevalve including a cylindrical valve chamber in the discharge line, .avalve sleeve within said cylindrical valve chamber, an inlet port dnthevalve chamber, said cylinder :outlet portabeingconn'ected to said valvechamber inlet :port, a V shaped port in said valve sleeve adapted to berotated into and out of coincidence with said valve chamber inlet port,and a throttle handle for rotating :said'valve sleeve.

WM. T. :FOX, JR.

:REEERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,136,959 Winfield Nov. 15, 19382,147,196 Fox Feb. 14, 1939 2,177,120 Scha'eren Oct. 24, 1939 2,253,454Voit Aug. 19,1941 2,369,397 K'ostenick Feb. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 198,793 Switzerland Sept. 16, 1938 5083805 EnglandJuly 5,1939

